Group pushes for teen tanning ban

Nebraska lawmakers will consider a resolution in the upcoming legislative session to ban indoor tanning for children under the age of 18. It’s an idea presented to lawmakers by Nebraska doctors with a growing concern over the increasing number of young people developing melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer.

College student Kasey Shriver supports restrictions like this wholeheartedly, even though many of her peers are regular tanning bed clients.

Shriver said just three years ago, when she was 17, she had an annoying mole on her back. She wanted it removed before her junior prom so it wouldn’t show in the backless silver gown she picked out. She bugged her mom about it for several weeks before Brenda Stephens gave in.

“We went and had the mole removed. The doctor gave her heck for tanning. We thought he was really mean. A couple days later they called and said it was abnormal,” said Stephens.

The teen then learned some life-altering news. The diagnosis: malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

“If I wouldn’t have caught it when I did, I would be in big trouble right now, big, big trouble,” said Shriver, who’s now a sophomore at Kansas University.

By the time doctors removed the melanoma, the cancer had already spread to Kasey’s lymph nodes, making it stage three cancer. She had three surgeries, leaving a 7 inch scar on her back. The teen also endured a year of chemotherapy and she must have a battery of tests and doctor visits every few months to search for melanoma, the most aggressive and evasive of all cancers.

A recent CT scan checked her lungs and liver for any sign of melanoma.

“It’s just not worth it. It’s just not worth it,” she said.

Kasey’s doctors say a growing body of research points to indoor tanning putting more young women at risk for melanoma.

“I started tanning when I was 14, first for dances, then basketball season,” said Kasey. She said she visited tanning beds with her friends several times a week as a social outing. Photos from high school show the freckled, brown eyed girl with tanned skin year round.

“It’s absolutely alarming that we’re seeing much more melanoma in younger women. Melanoma has the fastest rising incidence of any cancer,” said Dr. David Watts, a dermatology surgeon with Dermatology Specialists of Omaha.

Watts said young skin is more susceptible to DNA damage from ultraviolet radiation delivered in tanning beds.

“The tanning machines are several times as intense as natural sunlight. We’ve known for decades that melanoma is linked with intense intermittent exposure to ultraviolet radiation. That’s what you get in the tanning beds,” said Watts.

One study said the use of tanning devices before age 35 increases a person’s lifetime risk of melanoma by 87 percent. And with one in four teenage girls using indoor tanning equipment, Watts said we haven’t seen the peak of this problem yet.

A study from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota found that malignant melanoma is the most common cancer among young adults ages 25-29.

It’s those numbers and Shriver’s story that prompted Nebraska lawmaker Jeremy Nordquist to support a resolution to ban the use of indoor tanning devices for people under age 18. Lawmakers will consider the resolution during the new session which begins this week.

“Several countries have banned indoor tanning completely. We have states taking actions to implement restrictions on tanning beds because we’ve seen as these beds have gotten more powerful, we’ve seen skin cancers in young people increase also,” said Nordquist, an Omaha legislator from south Omaha’s district 7.

Across the country, 33 states have tanning restrictions in place for minors, including Iowa.

The resolution is backed by the Nebraska Dermatology Society, the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians and several other health organizations.

Some in the tanning industry said the resolution created by dermatologists is part of competition in the industry.

“It’s us against the Dermatology Society. This isn’t the first time they’ve attacked us,” said Tracie Cunningham, who’s worked with Ashley Lynn’s Tanning for 20 years, most recently as vice president.

Cunningham said the tanning industry is shrinking in Nebraska because the medical field is out to get them.

“Three years ago, we had 218 tanning salons in the state. Now we have lost 103 of them, 48 percent of us have closed in the last 3 years,” she said.

Cunningham said her 20 Omaha tanning salons are in direct competition with dermatologists when it comes to treating patients with conditions like psoriasis. She said tanning salons take money away from doctors and the issue isn’t about skin cancer at all.

“Those folks come here because it’s cheaper and they don’t have to make a co-payment,” said Cunningham.

In a news release, The American Suntanning Association said that banning teenagers from tanning beds will cause more sunburns from outdoor tanning, and the association believes the current system of parental consent works. In Nebraska, children as young as 14 can use indoor tanning devices with a parent’s permission. The association said this is not a public health issue, it’s a competitive issue.

Shriver said she won’t be out of the woods with her melanoma diagnosis for another 7 years. She’s said she’s using her time to study for a career in the medical field and inform others about the dangers of tanning.

Her story was part of a skin health issue in Seventeen Magazine last spring and she talks about tanning and melanoma with anyone who will listen. A tattoo above the scar on her back is often a starting point to educate people. It reads, “Believe.”

“Believe that you can get through it, stay strong, and help others,” said Shriver.

She said it’s challenging to show teenagers their actions now, have consequences. She remembers breaking the news to her high school basketball team that she couldn’t finish the season because she needed cancer surgery.

“One of the girls walked out of the gym and said, ‘I’d rather die beautiful and tan than have melanoma and live,” said Shriver, holding back tears.

Nordquist said he’ll introduce the resolution to the legislature this week and it’ll likely be assigned to the state’s Health and Human Services Committee. Doctors involved in the legislation have already presented their case to several committee members and Nordquist said there’s strong support for it.

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